The present invention relates generally to an improved construction for a paintball marker. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved paintball marker that can accommodate projectiles, such as paintballs, that are of differing sizes.
In the sport of paintball, pneumatically operated guns are employed to launch paint capsules or paintballs at a participant's opponent. In this regard, in order to operate, such pneumatically operated paintball guns require the use of a reliable source of compressed air or other gas. Such a supply of compressed gas is generally provided in the form of a portable gas cylinder that is mounted to the gun. In this arrangement, a large volume of highly pressurized compressed gas is stored in the gas cylinder, wherein relatively small amounts of the gas are metered out at a reduced pressure in order to operate the marker and launch the projectiles. To achieve this metering operation, the use of pressure regulators in paintball markers has become commonplace, so that the desired output pressure from the gas storage cylinder can be controlled.
Paintball projectiles are typically fed through the breech of a paintball marker in preparation for communication with a bolt to ready it for launch. The breech and feed area of the marker are design specifically for the size of the paintball that is to be received to ensure smooth operation while avoiding undesirable jamming and breakage of paintball projectiles. Since the breech and feed sections are sized to the anticipated incoming paintballs from a hopper, receipt and launching of paintballs other than the expected size are not possible. Therefore, when a paintball marker is manufactured, it is designed to discharge projectiles of a specific size because the barrel, breech and feed section of the marker are of a fixed size and dimension. For example, common sizes of projectiles fired by current paintball markers are .68 caliber and .50 caliber, which generally refer to the diameter length of the projectile in inches. The decimal point at the beginning is usually not spoken. For example, a .50 caliber projectile is usually referred to as a “fifty caliber” projectile. In a marker, the breech, feed tube, bolt and barrels are sized accordingly. Also “caliber” is typically shortened to “cal” when written, which will be referenced as such herein. Markers are designed to fire either of these specific sizes. Thus, known prior art markers can only launch projectiles of a single size thereby limiting their range of function.
There is a need in the prior art for a given paintball marker to be able to launch paintballs of different sizes. This gives the marker flexibility in use. This is useful because the characteristics and nature of a paintball can change dramatically when the size changes. For example, there is a desire for a paintball marker to launch a new size of paintball that is .50 cal in size, which is less expensive than a .68 cal paintball. As a result, the cost savings can be passed onto the paintball game player. Thus, the costs of playing paintball can be significantly reduced for more enjoyable and extended game play.
To accommodate new paintballs of different sizes, such as new smaller .50 cal paintballs, the paintball marker itself must be capable of accommodating such projectiles. Therefore, a player must have multiple markers to respectively accommodate the size of paintball that they are playing with on a given day. This not only requires a player to carry multiple markers but also bear the expense of multiple full markers. This problem occurs because current markers are fixed to launch a projectile of a given size and are incapable of being altered quick and easily to accept and discharge projectiles outside of the range that they were originally manufactured. For example, a .68 cal marker cannot fire .50 cal projectiles, and vice versa.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a paintball marker to be able to accommodate different sized projectiles with minimal changes to the overall construction of the marker thereby saved cost and burden on the user game player of the marker.